The Dance
by Noontide
Summary: Revan and Malak were once best friends. Revan was power, but Malak was her strength. PreKotor through the Destruction of the Star Forge.


Disclaimer: Don't sue, I don't own the game.

The dance was intricate, the flash of the light sabers weaving between them nearly intoxicating. They were getting as intimate as two people can, revealing secrets to one another through their strokes and parries. Her raven hair flew as she flipped over him, dual light sabers going in for a hit. His blue blade came up to parry as he twirled around to face her again, bald head covered in the sweat of exhilaration and exertion. They had been at it for hours now. Deep concentration was the expression on both their faces. Only hers was mixed with the struggle to control her emotions.

Another twist and her green blades came closer than he'd have liked. She danced out of reach as his viridian blade managed to singe her hair. They both paused in their death waltz, each staring the other down, sweat dripping from both, and the panting of exertion filling the room about them. Her knuckles were white from the grip she held on the two light sabers, though she herself appeared calm and relaxed; the very example of all a Jedi should be. It was the little things that were noticeable. He was shaking as he stood there, barely able to hold himself up, but still the prime example of emotional control.

Gray eyes met brown, and for a split second time seemed to freeze in place. The gentle hum of the light sabers could not be heard, and the labored breathing of the two warriors fell on deaf ears. Something seemed to pass between them then, an unspoken agreement or perhaps merely an untold comfort. Only they could know. The moment passed, and the sabers were brought up again slowly, almost monotonously. The arcs of light sizzled as they met in mid-air only to part once more.

The dazzling movements of the two gradually began to increase in speed once more. Her tunic was now singed in several places, and his chest bore the light burns of a gentle saber-tap. Both were drenched in sweat, her raven hair slick with moisture and her bangs plastered to her forehead. His bald head was shining, the blue tattoos even more pronounced. Neither of them had yet wounded the other, only slight burns had resulted, but the sparring match proved to be getting rougher quickly. Both he and she were now using the Force to sustain themselves, and chase away exhaustion.

Another twist was implemented as a green saber came within a hair of splitting the skin of his midsection. A flip was her way of avoiding his viridian blade. The heat that was given off as the sabers met again resounded in a loud sizzling that seemed to bounce off the walls of their room. Neither was willing to give ground, but both were nearly too exhausted to stand. He was letting her vent her emotions out on him. She was letting him comfort her in the only way he knew how.

A pale arm rose to wipe away the single drop of sweat that was on the verge of falling from her nose, gray eyes intense as she watched him, studying each and every move he made. He shook his head, beads of sweat flying in all directions only to fall to their deaths as they splashed on the hard ground below. Brown eyes studied her, pleaded with her to give up, and call it quits for the night. She was relentless and her eyes flashed indignantly as she brought her dual blades down on him, only to have the blow parried with his single blue blade. He was shaking as he held his blade against hers and stared her down, noting how she too, shook with the effort. Her expression was painful, filled with a need to express her grief in the only way she knew how. His was resigned, allowing her to do what she needed to do. They parted again.

He watched her now, carefully hiding his concern. Her eyes were hidden by her bangs, and her expression tactfully blank. The steady hum of their light sabers guided them in their intricate movements as music guided the dancers in their graceful steps. Their leaps and bounds took made it possible for them to meet in midair once more, allowing one of her sabers to meet his briefly before he let himself sail back to the floor, landing in a low crouch. She landed on her feet, one knee bent forwards slightly. This time it was he who was relentless as he rushed her, bringing his single saber down on her as she parried with one and swept at his feet with the other. He leapt up and avoided the deadly light.

They were both dangerously close to depleting their reserves. A blazing pillar of green light swept around to split the skin of his side at the same time as a great viridian fire ripped through her arm. Both refrained from crying out. The wounds were cauterized from the sabers and wouldn't bleed. There was nothing to worry about. Mere scratches were all they were. He was required to duck as one of her sabers was thrown towards him, and he was forced to busy his own single blade with stopping the other from gutting him.

She watched him with a hazy look to her gray eyes, her movements turning sluggish. He kept his brown gaze on her, slowing his own movements as the sweat dripped from the both. His chest was slick with it, and her tunic damp. She shook her head and looked away, her expression full of disbelief. He let a brow rise in question and then started towards her. Her light sabers dropped from her shaking hands to fall deactivated on the floor beside her. She soon joined them.

She knelt there on the floor on her hands and knees, nearly vomiting. He rushed over with a cry and slid to the floor while carelessly letting his light saber skid away from him. Strong hands grasped her shoulder gently, and forced her to look him in the eyes. She couldn't answer his silent question, but he knew she'd had a vision. Gray eyes dropped to the floor, unable to comprehend what it had meant. Startled cry was given as he pulled her to him, holding her gently. She let him.

She needed him, and he was there. Slick with sweat and burned, cut, exhausted and out of energy; the two stayed there, merely content to be together. She had lost her family today, and he had given her the message. She wanted to vent out her emotion, and he was the only one that could match her skill. She needed a friend, and he was her best candidate. The masters found them like that, passed out from sheer exhaustion.

The next day the Republic came with a plea for aide. The Council refused, preaching about finding the 'real' threat. The Mandalorians had caused the death of her family. She'd not seen them since she was taken, but there was still that closeness there. She debated with the Council for days, weeks even, pleading with them to aide their people against this threat. Still they refused.

He stood with her, ever by her side. He held her through the tears, and sparred with her through the frustration. He became her rock, her anchor during bad times. The visions grew worse, and she grew unstable. Still he stood by her, and still she clung to him. They were destined to fall from their pillar of greatness, destined to descend into oblivion; returning to the light only because of each other.

She defied the Council, and he followed her. They claimed the Republic needed them more than the Jedi. There people took them in, and they became Commanders of the war. The Mandalorians grew to respect them as worthy foes; she for her brilliant mind, and him for his brute force. Together they made a worthy team. Together, they could win a war.

The war was going badly, and she was looked down upon by her own troops. They were separated more often now, no longer as close as they had once been. He didn't know all of her secrets now, and she none of his. She began to change, growing colder, and more distant towards others. He became more ruthless, and more determined. The Jedi under their command began to fear they were falling. They couldn't have been more wrong.

She donned the mask to hide her gender, and the degrading side-effects of embracing her dark side. She'd found something out there that could destroy the Republic if left unchecked. She would make an empire that could stop it. Still he followed her, even down the path of darkness, and into the oblivion beyond. She used him, like everyone else, to get what she wanted. He grew to resent her, and forgot the bond they used to share. She chose to ignore it, and forced him to call her Master.

She grew in power, taking control of the remnants of an extinct race. He disobeyed her, and had a planet destroyed to prove loyalty. She took his jaw, and bade him wear a mechanical prosthetic. No longer did his voice remind her of their younger days. It was mechanical and cold now, like a droid's. He didn't disobey her outright again.

He earned the loyalty of their followers, and contrived to put an end to his Master. The Jedi led a strike team to capture her, and he fired on her ship. She fell, and he became the master. Her mind was wiped clean, devoid of the remnants of her past. Or so the Jedi thought. They never guessed it would all come rushing back. She faced him for the first time since the betrayal.

She learned who she truly was, and remembered who they had been. She struggled through the memories, learning that her enemy was really something more than a monster. She realized her enemy was her own fault. She struggled through the nightmares, and the memories of what she'd once had. New love was rejected by the pain of the old. Resolve settled in, and the old determination lit up her gray eyes.

Their next meeting was like déjà vu to both of them. Only this time two green sabers met a crimson blade. This time they were playing for keeps, and comfort was impossible. Memories passed between them like a casual conversation, keeping both tense and tight-lipped with determination. Sweat again pored from them, his bald head glistening as her hair stuck to her skin. He avoided a sweep from a green blade and came up with his red saber, sending a volley of lightening her way. She cried out, falling to her knees in pain.

He ignored the instinct that told him to run to her. She pushed herself back up, willed herself to go on. He leapt towards her, only to be met by a saber she'd thrown as the last of his fallen Jedi were released with her powers. This was the last leg, and one of them wasn't walking away from it. They faced each other, much like they had in their younger days, only this time one was Sith and the other Jedi; bitter enemies that were once the best of friends. Gray eyes once again met brown, but this time a plea for forgiveness was sent between them, and only he knew if it was accepted or not.

They both leapt for each other, him twisting to avoid her saber, but the other catching him in the chest. He dropped his, letting it fall to the floor and clatter as it landed and rolled away. She threw hers down, and ran to him, cradling his head in her lap. He spoke a while, told her it was her fault he was this way, but she told him he'd kept on the path. He eventually realized she was right. Even from the darkest places in the Galaxy, we can all manage to find the light. He was redeemed through death, and she built him the grandest funeral pyre the Galaxy had ever seen. She'd vowed it once, and she didn't break promises.

She alone watched as the flames ate his flesh, giving him release in death. She hoped he'd found their masters, and welcomed back into the light. The Force would allow them to be together again one day, but until then; she had to atone for them both. Redemption was a difficult thing, but out there, fighting the Sith in the darkest regions of space, she found her acceptance. He was waiting for her when her relief came and she could finally go home. It was said that her death could be felt by Force users all over the Galaxy.

After all, Revan was power, looking at her was like looking into the Force itself. Malak was strength, Revan's anchor in bad times. Together they conquered the Galaxy; they became heroes, villains, saviors, and conquerors. Their destiny was great and their lives greater still. They lived together; fell together, and in the end, they redeemed each other.

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Please don't flame me…It was just an idea that wouldn't leave me alone. I'm rather proud of it myself…Heh..Maybe I'm just strange like that.


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